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Reserve Your Seat: An offer for the members and friends of the Mid-Atlantic Russian Business Council: Join the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Neeme Jarvi to celebrate the sounds of Russia.Festival concerts and community events explore the composers who gave birth to Russian classical music. Through the use of Russian folk songs, stories and history, we'll discover how each composer defines the Russian character in his own way and gives voice to the Russian soul.

Enjoy the music of Rachmaninoff, Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky and more! Save 20% with this special offer!

To take advantage of this special offer and receive 20% off on all tickets mention code RR20 when purchasing tickets at our box office. When ordering online, click the concert you would like to buy, click Presales/promotions and enter code RR20. Discount is not retroactive and restrictions may apply.

For tickets and more information: www.njsymphony.org/russia

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NEW JERSEY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA PRESENTS

RUSSIAN ROMANTICS
THE 2007 WINTER FESTIVAL
JANUARY 9–28

Newark, NJ — Experience the epic sweep of the Czarist era with Russian Romantics, a three-week festival of events and world-renowned performances celebrating the musical influence of a rich and robust culture wrapped in wintry delights. Russian romanticism is characterized by soulful melodies, kaleidoscopic colors, and earth-shaking intensity. This January, the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra offers myriad ways to experience its grandeur. The Winter Festival kicks off on Tuesday, January 9 and continues through Sunday, January 28 at venues throughout the state. Join NJSO at the many performances and events that celebrate and explore the work of renowned Russian composers. Tickets to all Festival events and performances may be purchased by calling 1.800.ALLEGRO (800.255.3476) or by visiting www.njsymphony.org.

Winter Festival Kick-Off Event
The Montclair Art Museum hosts the Winter Festival Kick-Off Sampler on Tuesday, January 9 at 7 pm featuring members of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra in some glorious chamber music performances. Conductors Jeffrey Grogan and Arkady Leytush lead a fascinating discussion, followed by a reception for all.
Maestro Arkady Leytush, cover conductor for the NJSO, is one of Russia’s most gifted conductors, having directed orchestras in Europe and the United States to great acclaim. Critics as have described him as “a conductor in the Grand Russian Tradition” and his dynamic interpretations have made him an audience favorite. Leytush’s artistry is known throughout the former Soviet Union, but it was not until 1994 that he gained recognition in the United States when he made a stunning debut with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.
American conductor Jeffrey Grogan is the education and community programs conductor of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra. He comes to the Garden State from his most recent post as Director of Orchestras and Associate Professor at the Ithaca College School of Music in upstate New York. In addition to leading Ithaca’s graduate orchestral conducting program, he took the orchestra to its Avery Fisher Hall debut in April 2005 and led the ensemble in its most recent concert programs in the United Kingdom. Grogan has also performed at Carnegie Hall, the Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas and Ireland’s National Concert Hall in Dublin. 

Week 1: January 9–14
The Winter Festival begins with Rachmaninoff the Romantic, a full program dedicated to the famous Russian pianist. Neeme Jarvi conducts the orchestra, with guest pianist Alan Kogosowski in three performances on Friday, January 12 at 8 pm and Sunday, January 14 at 3 pm at NJPAC in Newark and on Saturday, January 13 at 8 pm at the War Memorial in Trenton. Concertmaster Eric Wyrick and principal cellist Jonathan Spitz will perform excerpts from Trio élégiaque with Kogosowski.

Experience the passion of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Trio élégiaquefor piano, violin and celloand the ancient Russian echoes in his Symphony No. 1. Concerto élégiaque is Kogosowski’s own arrangement as a concerto with piano solo, mirroring the trio’s movements but adding a distinct style to the work. Scored in 1893 by a young Rachmaninoff in honor of Tchaikovsky’s death, the Trio élégiaqueis a haunting piece, brimming with Russian melancholy. “The new setting of the music,” Kogosowski says, “allows full scope to the virtuoso role intended by Rachmaninoff for the piano,”   
Symphony No. 1 in D minor, Op. 13is now considered a classic work of art, but its 1897 premiere left the audience unimpressed and one critic referred to it as “Hell.” Ultimately, the orchestra was saddled with the blame and Rachmaninoff’s chant-like work has pleased audiences—and critics—for more than a century.
The 2006-07 season marks Neeme Järvi's second season as music director of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra. His first season heralded a much-anticipated new era for the NJSO, and this vibrant partnership continues to live on in the 2006-07 season. He is also Chief Conductor of the Hague Residentie Orchestra in the Netherlands. Järvi is Music Director Emeritus of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Principal Conductor Emeritus of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra (National Orchestra of Sweden), Conductor Laureate of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, and First Principal Guest Conductor of the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra. Born in Tallinn, Estonia and an American citizen since 1987, Järvi is one of today’s busiest conductors, making frequent guest appearances with the major orchestras and opera houses throughout the world.

Australian pianist, writer and producer Alan Kogosowski has sustained a varied and illustrious career. In the mid-1980s, he conceived and presented the prestigious London concert series Schubertiades at Sotheby’s. These 19th-century style salon concerts soon acquired a cult following, including members of the Royal Family, and became a staple at Sotheby’s for ten years. Subsequently relocating to the United States, Kogosowski turned his attention to the works of Rachmaninoff and Chopin. He restored and orchestrated two major works for piano and orchestra by these composers, both of which premiered at the Detroit Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Maestro Järvi. In 2003, these were followed by a six-part New York television series on the life of Frederic Chopin, conceived, written, produced and performed by Kogosowski. The New York Times hailed it as “outstanding” and the series is now available as a double-DVD set. 

NJSO has teamed up with the Rutgers Film Co-op/New Jersey Media Arts Center to present a screening of  Emerson, Lake & Palmer: Pictures at an Exhibition. The innovative progressive rock band, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, is filmed in 1970 performing a now legendary concert of its rock-influenced arrangement of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition. This free event will take place at 7 pm on Friday, January 19 on the campus of Rutgers University in New Brunswick. (Scott Hall, Rm. 123, 43 College Avenue.)

Join music professor Dr. Marla Meissner of Montclair State University and Dr. A. G. Nigrin, director and curator of the New Jersey Film Festival, for a pre-screening discussion about classical music's influence on rock music. Discover how bands such as Emerson, Lake & Palmer; The Beatles; Pink Floyd; The Who; and Led Zeppelin created works of art similar to those of classical tradition.
Week 2: January 15–21
Russian Romantics continues with Tales of Tchaikovsky led by Neeme Jarvi. In three performances, the NJSO will perform Romeo and Juliet and excerpts from Souvenir de Florence. Pianist Alexander Markovich brings out the best of Tchaikovsky in Piano Concerto No. 2 . Also on the bill is Osyannikov-Kulikovsky’s Symphony No. 21. Three performances take place on Friday, January 19 at 8 pm at NJPAC in Newark; Saturday, January 20 at 8 pm at the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank; and Sunday, January 21 at 3 pm at the State Theatre in New Brunswick.
 Although Tchaikovsky expressed his nationalism through Western forms, he couldn't have sounded more Russian. From the dance-like string playing of his Souvenir de Florence to his fiery Piano Concerto No. 2 and poetic Romeo and Juliet, Tchaikovsky's polish will shine as his purely Russian sound speaks to the soul.

Alexander Markovich is one of today’s most well known pianists. Born in Moscow in 1964 into a family of musicians, he studied piano and conducting at Moscow Conservatory. In 1990 he emigrated to Israel, and now splits his time between there and Germany. Markovich began his career as an accompanist to many accomplished soloists including violinists Vadim Repin, Maxim Vengerov, Ida Haendel and Jullian Rachlin; trumpeter Sergey Nakarjakov; tenor Sergey Larin. He has performed at Carnegie Hall, Suntory Hall in Tokyo and Champs Elysee in Paris. London’s Strad magazine calls him an ''absolutely outstanding musician.”
In conjunction with NJSO’s Winter Festival, the Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum will hold special docent-led tours of the museum's Russian art collections. The 30-minute tour will focus on Imperial Russian Art and on the art of the first decade of the Soviet Revolution. The tour will focus on the interconnections of Russian art to music, opera and ballet, especially to the works of Tchaikovsky and the composers known as the Mighty Five. Tours take place on Sunday, January 21 at 12:30 pm and 1:30 pm. The Zimmerli Art Museum is located at 71 Hamilton Street in New Brunswick. Tickets are $3 for non-museum members and may be purchased at the door.

Week 3: January 22–28

One of the crown jewels for NJSO is the Golden Age Collection. Join the Symphony in a showcase of these rare and historic string instruments on Tuesday, January 23 at 7 pm at the new Dorothy Young Center for the Arts in Madison. Enjoy the warm radiance, powerful tone and deep color of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra's own Stradivarius, Guarneri del Gésu and Amati string instruments. Discover more through the interactive performance and discussion where a select group of NJSO musicians choose their favorite pieces and perform them on these fine instruments -- part of the largest and most valuable collection of string instruments in the world.  The Center is located on the campus of Drew University, 36 Madison Avenue in Madison.
The final week of NJSOs’ Winter Festival culminates with Russia’s Mighty Five. Explore the roots of Russian nationalism with the music of the five seminal composers who gave birth to a sound that is unmistakably Russian.  From Balakirev's dazzling Islamey to Rimsky-Korsakov's seductive Scheherazade, hear how each of these composers, in his own unique way, defines the Russian soul.

The name refers to the Soviet greats: Mily Balakirev, Alexander Borodin, César Cui, Modest Mussorgsky, and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. Beginning in the late 1850s, this group of Russian composers sought to establish a Russian school of composition, distinct from the Western European heritage. They drew upon folk song and dance for their melodic material and avoided Western-style sonata and symphony.

The Mighty Five also looked to art, geography, the imagined and real cultures of the czarist empire, and even some western models they simply could not ignore. Russia’s Mighty Five offers a rare opportunity to hear music by each of them in an unusual program with two examples of music originating for piano and later orchestrated by a different composer.  Performances take place on Thursday, January 25 at 8 pm at the State Theatre in New Brunswick; Friday, January 26 at 8 pm at the War Memorial in Trenton; Saturday, January 27 at 8 pm and Sunday, January 28 at 3 pm at NJPAC in Newark.

Neeme Jarvi conducts Mussorgsky’s The Great Gate of Kiev from Pictures at an Exhibition and Night on Bald Mountain, Cui’s Nocturne n F-sharp minor, Balakirev’s Islamey, Borodin’s "Polovtzian Dances" from Prince Igor, and Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade. Jie Chen is the solo pianist.

Chinese pianist Jie Chen has won numerous piano competitions including the Second International Piano Competition, the Washington International and the Missouri Southern International competitions, as well as top prizes at the Arthur Rubinstein and Santander Paloma O’Shea International competitions. In 2006, she was awarded the Festorazzi Prize from the Curtis Institute for Best Pianist of the Year. Ms. Chen has appeared in concerts and recitals to rave reviews, including her major orchestral debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra under Wolfgang Sawallisch playing the Rachmaninoff Second Concerto in 2001.  She has performed at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center as well as the Vienna Chamber Orchestra with Phillippe Entremont, the Sanremo Sifonica in Italy, and the Isreal Philharmonic. Her performances have been broadcast by television and radio throughout the world.

The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra
The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra is comprised some of the country’s finest musicians, led by Music Director Neeme Järvi, performing statewide on a regular basis throughout the year.  Its mission is consistent with artistic excellence combined with community engagement and is realized through a uniquely designed concert series and education/outreach programming designed to enhance and enrich learning for children and adults alike. The orchestra tours to seven different venues throughout New Jersey. The AIG/New Jersey Symphony Broadcast Series is a syndicated program carried throughout North America by 96.3FM WQXR (New York) and WFMT (Chicago).  For more information about the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, visit www.njsymphony.org or e-mail information@njsymphony.org. Tickets to performances may be purchased by calling 1.800.ALLEGRO (255.3476).

The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra’s programs are made possible in part by The New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, along with many other foundations, corporations and individual donors.

New Jersey Symphony Orchestra’s 2007 Winter Festival At-a-Glance
Tickets to all Festival events and performances may be purchased by calling 1.800.ALLEGRO (800.255.3476) or by visiting www.njsymphony.org.

Madison:
Event: Golden Age Collection Showcase
Tuesday, January 23 at 7 pm
Dorothy Young Center for the Arts at Drew University
36 Madison Ave., Madison, NJ 07940
Tickets: $20

Montclair:
Event: Winter Festival Kick-Off Sampler
Tuesday, January 9 at 7 pm
Montclair Art Museum
3 South Mountain Ave., Montclair, NJ 07042
Tickets: $25

New Brunswick:
Event: Film screening, Emerson, Lake & Palmer: Pictures at an Exhibition
Friday, January 19 at 6 pm
Rutgers University
43 College Ave., Scott Hall, Rm. 123
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
Tickets: FREE

Performance: Tales of Tchaikovsky
Sunday, January 21 at 3 pm
State Theatre
19 Livingston Ave., New Brunswick, NJ 08901
Tickets: $20–$75

Event: Imperial Russian Art Exhibition
Sunday, January 21 at 12:30 pm and 1:30 pm
Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum
71 Hamilton St., New Brunswick, NJ 08901
Tickets: $3 for non-museum members

Performance: Russia’s Mighty Five
Thursday, January 25 at 8 pm
State Theatre
19 Livingston Ave., New Brunswick, NJ 08901
Tickets: $20–$75

Newark:
Performance: Rachmaninoff the Romantic
Friday, January 12 at 8 pm
Sunday, January 14 at 3 pm
NJPAC
1 Center St., Newark, NJ 07102
Tickets: $20–$75

Performance: Rachmaninoff the Romantic
Sunday, January 14 at 3 pm
NJPAC
1 Center St., Newark, NJ 07102
Tickets: $20–$75

Performance: Tales of Tchaikovsky
Friday, January 19 at 8 pm
NJPAC
1 Center St., Newark, NJ 07102
Tickets: $20–$75

Performance: Russia’s Mighty Five
Saturday, January 27 at 8 pm
NJPAC
1 Center St., Newark, NJ 07102
Tickets: $20–$75

Performance: Russia’s Mighty Five
Sunday, January 28 at 3 pm
NJPAC
1 Center St., Newark, NJ 07102
Tickets: $20–$75

Red Bank:
Performance: Tales of Tchaikovsky
Saturday, January 20 at 8 pm
Count Basie Theatre
99 Monmouth Street, Red Bank, NJ 07701
Tickets: $20–$75

Trenton:
Performance: Rachmaninoff the Romantic
Saturday, January 13 at 8 pm
Patriots Theater at the War Memorial
West Lafayette & Barrack Streets, Trenton, NJ 08608
Tickets: $20–$75

Performance: Russia’s Mighty Five
Friday, January 26 at 8 pm
Patriots Theater at the War Memorial
West Lafayette & Barrack Streets, Trenton, NJ 08608
Tickets: $20–$75